Application Instructions - Northwestern Law: …

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Fall 2019 - General LLM and ELLMC Application Page 1 of 18

Application Instructions

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law invites outstanding graduates of foreign law schools to join us for graduate studies and earn an LLM degree in one of our Degree Programs for International Students. Our programs offer students opportunities to pursue studies in U.S. law and business or general U.S. legal studies. You can now apply for our Executive LLM Chicago (ELLMC) and the General LLM (LLM) Programs using this single application. You can apply for both of the programs and the Admissions Committee will review and consider your application for each program separately.

If you decide to apply to both LLM programs, please note:

? Your application to each program will be reviewed independently. ? Admission to one program will not affect the Admission Committee's review of your application to the other program. ? If you are admitted to both programs, you must choose one as enrollment in multiple programs is not possible. ? The Admissions Committee conducts rolling admissions review, starting with the ELLMC Program. The sooner you apply,

the sooner you will receive an admission decision (within three weeks of submitting your complete application begining in December). ? If you are admitted to the ELLMC Program, you may be asked to submit a nonrefundable deposit which will be due before admission decisions are made for the General LLM Program. If, after submitting the deposit, you are admitted to the General LLM Program and wish to enroll, we will transfer your deposit upon written request and without penalty. ? Finally, please note that the 2019 ELLMC Program is scheduled to begin in early May 2019. In order to be eligible, applicants must have completed the requirements for their first degree in law, and must be able to arrive in Chicago by then.

Please review the descriptions and additional instructions for each program below.

Executive LLM Chicago Program

The Executive LLM Chicago (ELLMC) is a unique program for working professionals, designed by and for global business lawyers. Students will earn their LLM degree during a 16-week summer program. Courses will be taught by Northwestern law faculty who are leading experts in their fields. The program's location in the heart of Chicago provides access to outside resources available only in a major legal market and world-class city.

The ELLMC curriculum is directly responsive to the ways in which lawyers interact with business clients and enterprises, and is based on advice from elite global law firm lawyers. It includes a core curriculum comprised of:

- An introductory course on U.S. law and legal structure, - Fundamentals: Negotiations, Contracts, Business Associations, - Advanced corporate topics: Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Governance and Securities Regulation and - Ethics and Professional Responsibility, which is mandatory for students seeking to qualify for the California bar examination.

In addition to the core curriculum, students select three courses from those offered as part of the Advanced Corporate Concepts track (individual courses may include Private Equity, Bankruptcy and Corporate Criminal Law) or the IP/ Competition Policy track (individual courses may include Competition Law, Intellectual Property, and Intersection of Competition and IP).

The ELLMC program results in a general master of laws degree, not a specialized one. Degree candidates must complete at least 20 semester hours of credit. A cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or better is mandatory (C=2, C+=2.33, B=3, B +=3.33, A=4, A+=4.3).

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The ELLMC program is flexible and can accommodate client and employer demands.

Students who complete the program may qualify to sit for the California bar examination.

LLM Program

Students in the LLM Program must take at least 20 law credit hours to earn the LLM degree. LLM students are free to design their own program of study from the Law School's many upper-level courses and seminars, including commercial and corporate, international, constitutional, and human rights law. During their first semester in residence, students enroll in two mandatory courses: the Common Law Reasoning course, which focuses on the fundamental research, analysis, and drafting skills expected of US-trained lawyers, and American Legal History course, introducing students to the history and principal characteristics of the American public and private law systems.

The LLM program leads to a general Master of Laws degree, not a specialized one. Degree candidates must complete one academic year of residence at the law school and earn at least 20 semester hours of credit. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.25 or better (F=0, D=1, C=2, C+=2.33, B-=2.67, B=3, B+=3.3, A-=3.67, A=4, A+=4.33) is mandatory.

Students may meet the LLM degree requirements in one of two ways: by earning all 20 semester hours of credit by taking courses, seminars, or other instructional offerings; or in exceptional cases, by earning four to 10 semester hours of credit by completing an approved graduate research project and earning the remaining 10 to 16 hours by taking courses.

An LLM degree candidate who wishes to pursue a graduate research project must propose a subject of significant scholarly merit, and one or more faculty members must agree to act as supervisors. The resulting paper should be suitable for publication and must be approved by the supervising faculty member(s) and an additional faculty reader.

All requirements for the LLM degree must be met to the satisfaction of faculty by August 31 of the second year after the beginning of the candidate's academic year of residence at the law school.

Bar Eligibility

Only some states permit foreign lawyers to take the bar examination, and each state has its own requirements as to prior legal education, coursework in a U.S. LLM program, and other matters. As such, the none of our LLM programs guarantee graduates that they will qualify to take the bar examination or practice law in the U.S. Eligibility, however, has been extended in the past in the states of New York and California dependent on meeting specific criteria. Please note that the California State Bar has notified Northwestern Pritzker School of Law that the current ELLMC program will qualify a student to take the California Bar Exam. Please refer to the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements for more information on bar exam eligibility requirements for any state.

Application and Admissions Information

Applicants to the Degree Programs for International Students must hold a first degree in law from a university or college whose law degree requirements are comparable to Northwestern's. In unusual cases, a vote of the faculty may waive this requirement for LLM applicants. Although there are no rigid standards for class ranking or grade-point average, accepted applicants generally have ranked at or near the top of their law school classes or have otherwise demonstrated exceptional academic promise.

Applications for admission are considered only for the current year and for full-time registration. There is no part-time or evening program or mid-year entry.

A completed application to the Degree Programs for International Students consists of the following:

? The Application for Admission form that must include the signed certification statement at the end (or electronic signature, if applying electronically).

? A nonrefundable $75 application fee in the form of a check or money order in US dollars, payable to Northwestern University or paid electronically by credit card via LSAC.

? Essay Questions (may be electronically attached). Please see the section titled "Essay Questions" for specific instructions.

? One letter of recommendation from a member of the applicant's law faculty or from a previous or current employer. ? An official copy of the applicant's LLM Credential Assembly Service (LLM CAS) report which includes official transcripts

from all institutions of higher education attended, the transcript authentication and evaluation of transcripts, a valid TOEFL score report and a letter of recommendation. ? Curriculum vitae/r?sum? written in English. ? Evaluative interview (encouraged but not required).

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Application Deadline: January 15

The Admissions Committee may exclude from consideration any application received after the deadline or incomplete at that date. Early submission of application materials allows time for correspondence between the school and the applicant in case of deficiencies in the application. Applicants should note that the delivery of mail from abroad may cause additional delays.

Online Application

You may complete your law school application on the web at law.northwestern.edu/admissions or through the Law School Admission Council's (LSAC) electronic applications.

Application Updates

While the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid seeks to keep the applicant informed of progress on the application and the receipt of documents, it is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all parts of the application reach the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid by the deadline. Upon submission of an application, applicants will be provided with instructions on how to check the status of their applications via an online tool. Applicants who do not provide an e-mail address will be responsible for tracking their application status by directing inquiries to the Office of Admissions. The Admissions Committee does not review incomplete applications.

All correspondence should be addressed to Northwestern Law, Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Degree Programs for International Students, 375 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3069, USA; phone 312.503.8465; fax 312.503.0178; e-mail admissions@law.northwestern.edu.

Personal Statement

In place of a traditional personal statement, you will be asked to answer two essay questions which can be found within the application under the heading "Essay Questions." Please follow the directions and answer each question separately in a one to two-page double-spaced essay.

Letter of Recommendation

Applicants must submit a confidential letter of recommendation from a previous or current employer or from a member of the applicant's law faculty. Applicants must comply with LSAC requirements and policies regarding letters of recommendation, and submit the letters with the LSAC forms to the LLM Credential Assembly Service.

Transcripts

Applicants with foreign legal education credentials must use the Law School Admission Council LLM Credential Assembly Service. Further information regarding the LLM Credential Assembly Service can be found at .

Those applicants with foreign education credentials for whom the LLM CAS fee represents a significant financial burden may submit the transcript form, official transcripts (and translations, if required) and documentation of class rank directly to the Office of Admissions. Applicants submitting their transcripts directly to the law school with their application should provide the identifying information required on the Transcript Request Form included in the supplemental application and send the form to the registrar's office of each college or university. Applicants who have attended more than one college or university should make a copy of the request form for each institution attended. Official academic records should give results for all coursework as well as results of comprehensive or yearly examinations. Transcripts that do not bear the registrar's signature and/or the institution's seal are not official and are unacceptable. All transcripts should be in English translation. The applicant should mail them, unopened, to Northwestern.

In instances where a school does not furnish transcripts, school officials should certify courses completed and grades received as well as results of qualifying, comprehensive, or professional examinations where possible. If the applicant's college or university is not able to provide such a certification of academic record due to special circumstances, the applicant should obtain from school officials an explanation of the circumstances and submit it and a self-reported summary of studies, including, where possible, courses or seminars attended at the institution, grades received, examination results, and copies of certificates or instructor's evaluations. The Admissions Committee may request verification of self-reported academic records.

English Language Requirements

Students in the Degree Programs for International Students must have a high level of English proficiency in order to read the large amount of course material, to research and write papers and exams, and to participate in class discussions. Foreign

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applicants who are not native speakers of English should take the TOEFL/IELTS examination and have an official copy of the score report sent from ETS/IELTS directly to the LSAC LLM Credential Assembly Service (institution code 1565), and it will be reported in your credential evaluation. Since it may take two months or more for the score report to reach the law school, an applicant should take the TOEFL/IELTS no later than December of the year prior to enrollment. An application will not be complete and ready for review until the law school receives the official score report. Northwestern looks for a TOEFL score of at least 100 on the Internet-based test and IELTS score of 7.5. The law school will accept scores up to two years after the test date. We no longer accept the paper-based TOEFL (PBT) Examination. We only accept the Internet-based (IBT) TOEFL Examinations. For further information about the TOEFL examination write to TOEFL Services Educational Testing Service, PO Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, USA or call 1.609.921.9000.

If you have completed a first degree/undergraduate degree in law at an institution where the language of instruction is in English, you must notify the Admissions Committee by requesting a waiver of the TOEFL/IELTS requirement. Please submit a brief letter, electronic attachment, or e-mail to the committee indicating the institution's name, location, and length of the degree program completed. Waivers are granted on a case by case basis. If you are requesting a waiver, you must first participate in an evaluative interview.

Curriculum Vitae/Resume

Applicants to the LLM program are required to submit a one to two-page curriculum vitae (CV) or r?sum? written in English.

Interviews for LLM Applicants

Applicants may interview online. Interviews provide the Admissions Committee with additional information about your interpersonal and communication skills, maturity, and motivation. Interviews also help us preserve the strong sense of community and cooperative culture for which we are known. Finally, interviews provide you an opportunity to meet virtually additional members of our Northwestern Pritzker School of Law community.

Reapplicants

If you are reapplying to the law school, you must submit a complete application, nothing from a previous application is kept on file. This full application will include the application form, an updated personal statement, a new letter of recommendation, an updated curriculum vitae/r?sum?, official transcript and an official TOEFL/IELTS score report sent from ETS/IELTS. The fee for reapplication is the same as that for first-time applicants: $75.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition for the Degree Programs for International Students is listed at . Tuition increases should be anticipated each year.

In addition to tuition, the Law School charges the following non-refundable fees:

? Application fee $75 ? Deposit $750 (required of admitted applicants who accept a space in the entering class) ? Late payment penalty fee $200

Fellowships

The law school offers several fellowships for international students that typically cover only a portion of the tuition. The fellowships, which are in the form of grants, are awarded based primarily on merit and will follow admission decisions. There is no separate application requirement. Please note that there is no teaching requirement nor option. Fellowships are for one year only and are not renewable. Any nontuition portion of these fellowships is subject to US taxes. Fellowships do not provide for travel expenses to the United States.

Once an applicant is offered admission, the Admissions Committee will automatically consider the applicant for a fellowship award and he or she will be provided with a follow-up fellowship decision shortly thereafter.

Because most applicants require financial assistance and the amount of fellowships available is limited, all applicants, therefore, are encouraged to investigate alternative funding sources, including support from employers and government bodies, scholarships, and family and personal funds. Foreign students may wish to contact the US embassy or educational exchange commission in their countries for information on Fulbright Commission travel grants, Rotary Foundation fellowships, and other fellowship opportunities.

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Loans

Instructions on completing the financial aid application can be found at law.northwestern.edu/admissions/tuitionaid/. Under current federal regulations, only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible for federal student loans. Applicants who are not eligible for federal student loans may qualify for a university-administered or other private loan program (as outlined at northwestern.edu/sfs/loan_instruc_info/private_loans.html). Loans for international students require a creditworthy US citizen/permanent resident co-signer. If there is no co-signer, applicants should investigate loan opportunities in their home countries.

US citizens/permanent residents and international students with qualified co-signers will be requested to complete additional financial aid documents by the financial aid office to be considered for all loan programs. Applicants will receive additional guidance after the initial admission decision.

US citizens and permanent residents who wish to apply for a federal student loan should also submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine their eligibility for federal loan programs. The FAFSA form is available online at fafsa.. Individuals may also need to submit a signed copy of their 2018 federal tax return and W-2s to Northwestern. Individuals will be contacted via email should our Financial Aid Office require these forms.

Employment

There are no teaching or research fellowships for graduate students at the law school, and Department of Homeland Securities regulations may prohibit students from seeking outside employment during their studies. The Degree Programs for International Students demand time-consuming study and research, and experience has shown that it is difficult for students to complete the academic work if they are employed. Students with questions about employment should discuss them with the program director of the Degree Programs for International Students.

The law school's Center for Career Strategy and Advancement employs a full-time counselor who assists students in their postgraduate career planning.

Visa Requirements

To qualify for a visa, foreign students admitted to the Degree Programs for International Students must demonstrate their ability to fund one year of graduate study at the law school. Most students choose to enter the United States under an F-1 student visa or a J-1 exchange visitor visa. For additional information about visa options and regulations and immigration policies, contact a US embassy.

Northwestern University reserves the right to change without notice any statement in this publication concerning, but not limited to, rules, policies, tuition, fees, curricula, and courses.

It is the policy of Northwestern University not to discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or veteran status in matters of admissions, employment, housing, or services or in the educational programs or activities it operates, in accordance with civil rights legislation and University commitment. Any alleged violations of this policy or questions regarding the law with respect to nondiscrimination should be directed to Director of Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Disability Services, 720 University Place, Evanston, Illinois 60208-1147, phone 847-491-7458; Office of the Provost, Rebecca Crown Center, Evanston, Illinois 60208-1101.

It is Northwestern University policy to ensure that no qualified student with a disability is denied the benefits of, excluded from participation in, or otherwise subject to discrimination in any University program or activity. In response to a request made by a qualified student with a documented disability, the University will arrange, at no cost to the student, for the provision of educational auxiliary aids, including sign language interpreters, real-time captioners, note takers, readers, and tutors, determined by the University to be necessary to afford such student the opportunity for full participation in University programs.

In exceptional circumstances, Northwestern University School of Law reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to waive any documentation normally required for admission. It also reserves the right to admit or deny an applicant admission whenever it believes that it has sufficient evidence for the decision. At the discretion of the University, supporting documents that are received more than one month after the application form may not be incorporated into the admission decision.

?2018 Northwestern University. All rights reserved.

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